<em>Millions of children are at risk of death unless immediate action is taken to combat the global hunger crisis, warn six of the world's largest children's aid organizations.</em>
Berlin/Hamburg, August 17, 2022 – The world is facing a hunger and nutrition crisis of unprecedented proportions: Every minute, another child suffers from severe malnutrition, and eight million children in 15 countries affected by the crisis are at risk of death. In total, almost 50 million people worldwide are already affected by hunger. Only decisive action can avert the devastating and lifelong consequences for the health, nutrition, education, protection, and survival of children in the face of this horrific number.
We, the leaders of the six largest international NGOs in the world with a focus on children, have joined together in the Joining Forces Alliance to express our shared concern about the devastating impact on children.
Hunger is preventable and has no place in the 21st century. In 2017, we demonstrated that our collective action could avert famine in Somalia. As an international community, we bear a collective responsibility to ensure that urgent measures are taken to prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children. We cannot wait until a famine is officially declared before we act. In 2011, 260,000 people paid for this inaction with their lives during the Somali famine. Half of all victims were children under five.
As organizations working directly with children, families, and communities around the world, we see daily the devastating toll taken by the intensifying effects of conflict, climate change, and COVID-19, as well as the aftermath of the conflict in Ukraine. The hunger and nutrition crisis is already having a profound impact on children: it threatens their survival and protection and increases the risk of severe and acute malnutrition. Children are at increased risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse because they drop out of school, are forced into labor, are recruited and used by armed forces or groups, and are separated from their families. Children without parental care are especially vulnerable to food insecurity and its manifold consequences. Child marriage, early and forced marriage, early pregnancy, school dropout, sexual exploitation, and abuse disproportionately endanger girls. When food is scarce, girls and women often eat less and are the last to get their food.
The rights and needs of children must be paramount in addressing this crisis. We cannot simply continue as before. The response must be guided by the needs and hopes of children and empower young people as agents of change. Governments and donors must act urgently to save lives and protect children from lifelong negative consequences for millions. Food security is not a privilege, but a right enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. International leadership and political will must both drive an immediate response and address the root causes of hunger, such as conflict, economic shocks, climate change, and unequal access to agricultural resources, through community-based and locally driven solutions.
We are committed to working with governments and donors to ensure that children's needs are prioritized through a gender-specific, cross-sectoral response in food security, nutrition, health, WASH, education, protection, and social protection. This will enable us to combat the impacts of the food crisis while protecting lives and building resilience against protracted crises.
Joining Forces is an alliance of the six largest international NGOs worldwide working with and for children to protect their rights and ensure their safety. The CEOs are: Meg Gardinier, ChildFund Alliance ; Stephen Omollo, Plan International ; Inger Ashing, Save the Children International ; Ingrid Johansen, SOS Children's Villages International ; Valérie Ceccherini, Terre des Hommes ; and Andrew Morley, World Vision .